1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an energy absorber for decelerating an object that impacts the absorber.
2. Background Art
The prior art discloses numerous devices that absorb mechanical energy in various applications. Examples include protective packaging used in shipping containers, crash helmets, bumpers and vehicular interior components. Ideally, the most efficient energy absorber exerts a constant resistive force to decelerate an impacting object over the distance that the impacting object displaces the incident surface of the absorber. The most efficient curve would have a constant slope of zero. As an example, elastomeric solids many times act as springs, where the force-deflection curve is essentially a straight line of a given slope. Many foam materials display a similar force-deflection curve, although the curves are usually of not of constant slope.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,387, entitled xe2x80x9cThermoformed Plastic Energy Absorber For Vehiclesxe2x80x9d concerns energy absorbing media that disclose identical truncated pyramids that extend from layered sheets of plastic stock which intermesh and mutually support each other. (Id., Col. 1, ll. 7-9; Col. 3, ll. 20-22.) The reference teaches that multiple sets of sheets may be stacked adjacent to each other in order to create an absorber within which the energy is absorbed. The pyramids of each sheet project onto the design quadrilateral of the opposing sheet and the edges of each pyramid contact the corresponding edges of the surrounding four pyramids. (Id., Col. 3, ll. 32-36.)
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,545, entitled Energy Absorbing Structure, discloses an energy absorbing device that offers a nearly constant resistance force over a deflection distance, which if exactly constant, would be theoretically most efficient in absorbing energy. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference. Energy is absorbed by a lattice of interconnected strands of material with apertures between the strands, such that upon deformation the strands at least partially coalesce and the apertures at least partially close.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,084 discloses stranded structures that are oriented such that nearly all the metal structure is substantially in the crush plane. The strips of stranded metal are connected by the incident member. This reduces cost and weight of the assembly.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,942 describes a structure wherein the stranded metals are assembled into channels in a base and/or a structure of recesses formed in the base. Either or both structures may provide impact protection.
These and other energy absorbing members, especially but not exclusively, in the automobile environment, are used to protect vehicle occupants and may be used in applications to meet the standard for head injury protection for automotive interiors (Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard 201), which is incorporated herein by reference. The standard requires that interior components must be tested using a 10 lbm headform impacting the surface at 15 mph. A measurement of HIC(d) (head injury criteria (dummy)) is determined according to a formula set forth in FMVSS 201. The value of HIC(d) should not exceed 1000.
The prior art leaves unsolved production and performance problems that stem from relatively expensive and in some cases, less effectual approaches. Injection molding, reaction molding, extruding, blow molding, honeycomb formation, and stranded metal manufacture can be relatively costly. Additionally, it can be difficult to mold very thin wall thickness with some molding technologies.
In light of these and related approaches, there remains the desire to absorb as much impact energy in as little crush distance as possible, with as little weight as is necessary, yet be capable of being manufactured under favorable economic conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a more cost effective, efficient energy absorber.
The present invention is an energy absorber comprising a base and a plurality of recesses extending from the base. At least some of the plurality of recesses have a rim, a first wall extending between the base and the rim, a first floor, and a second wall extending between the rim and the first floor. At least some of the plurality of recesses are oriented such that their first and second walls are inclined respectively at angles alpha and beta to a major incident component of the impacting force, where alpha and beta lie between 1 and 45 degrees.
At least some of the recesses may be shaped as a cup, a cone, a frusto-conical body, a tetrahedron, a prism, a parallelepiped, a section of an ellipsoid, a section of an hyperboloid, and mixtures of such shapes. Further, some of the second walls and floors may be shaped as a cup, a cone, a frusto-conical body, a tetrahedron, a prism, a parallelepiped, a section of an ellipsoid, a section of an hyperboloid, and mixtures of such shapes.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the following description and attached drawings.